Tesla to Build Gigafactories in 2 States

Earlier this year we heard about Tesla’s plans to build a new gigafactory that will supply lithium-ion battery packs when needed, and now, it looks like there will be more than one. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is close to narrowing down the first locations.Currently, the company is looking at sites in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. We’re surprised California isn’t on this list as it’s one of the largest EV markets, but Tesla claims that timing requirements for regulatory reviews have made the company look elsewhere. As the automaker plans to produce a mass-market electric vehicle in the coming years, the battery packs need to be less expensive.“What we’re going to do is move forward with more than one state, at least two, all the way to breaking ground, just in care there’s last-minute issues. The No. 1 thing is we want to minimize the risk timing for the gigafactory to get up and running,” said Elon Musk in an interview earlier this week.But building these gigafactories isn’t the only thing on Tesla’s agenda. This year, the automaker plans to boost production of the Model S at its plant in Fremont, Calif. by at least 56 percent. Deliveries of the Model S to China have also started.Added to that, the design and preparation for the new mass-market vehicle will be done at the same time as the gigafactories are being built. The gigafactories are expected to add roughly 6,500 jobs, but if there’s no product to be built, “It would be quite a bad situation,” commented Musk.Source: Bloomberg

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